The emeritus, elite and enthralling status of the petitioners: The five petitioners who moved the Supreme Court on 29-08-2018, Wednesday against the arrest of the five activists were described by the prosecution as “strangers” who could not seek bail for “someone else”. The five petitioners may be “strangers” to the BJP government but not to the nation[1]:

the fifth a renowned civil liberties crusader who happens to be the daughter of the late Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw – Maja Daruwala[6].

None of them has ever been linked to the Maoist insurgency, before or during the era of “Urban Naxals” or “Half-Maoists”. Below is an introduction to those who consider Romila Thapar, Devaki Jain, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande and Maja Daruwala as “strangers”.

Dissent safety valve of democracy – Supreme Court: Earlier on 29-08-2018, Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and the Maharashtra government and directed the Pune police to keep the five accused under “house arrest” till the next date of hearing on September 6, 2018. The directions of a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice DY Chandrachud came in a public interest litigation filed by eminent historian Romila Thapar and four others challenging the arrests before the apex court. The Court said that dissent is the safety valve of democracy[7]. Hearing over the arrests were also held in the Delhi High Court and a sessions court in Pune. The Delhi HC, which had on Tuesday stayed the transit remand of activist Gautam Navlakha, has said that it would examine the legality of the Maharashtra police action[8]. The court also slammed police for failing to produce the translated version of the FIR and said it was yet to hear the grounds of arrest. Varavara Rao, Arun Fereira and Vernon Gonsalves, on the other hand, were produced by Pune police at the sessions court there.

Media picks holes in the Police proceednigs: The document – a remand report – gave 16 reasons why the rights activists should be in police custody, but had none of the dramatic claims made by the public prosecutor in court, NDTV has learnt[9]. The police document, accessed exclusively by NDTV, claimed all activists are members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and set up city units of the outlawed group. However, the petition made no reference to key charges made verbally in court and communicated to the media such as a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi or facilitating Maoist funding and weapons via Nepal[10]. When it is communicated to the media, what is the claim of “The police document, accessed exclusively by NDTV” to blame police! The document also did not mention the clashes in January between Dalits and upper caste Maratha organisations at Bhima-Koregaon near Pune, which they were linked to. So, it is intriguing to note why NDTV wants to dictate the police to conduct their proceedings.

If the plot-letters Two are fake, why, how and who created?: letters recovered by the police reveal the plot to kill Modi and other details to procure arms etc.[11], and therefore, if the Maoist defenders accuse / allege that they are “fake letters”, they should explain why their comrades have been keeping such “fake letters.” Moreover, the second one has been an “e-mail letter,” and print out taken giving more details[12]. Then, why such fake data are kept in their computer – a question that has to be answered. Creating fake documents, of this nature is also a crime, particularly, of this nature, implications and the issue involved. The previous proceedings clearly prove that they have been advocating violence as a means to achieve their “revolution.” Therefore, only, courts can decide the issue and not the media, demonstration or any influential talks etc.

We received your last letter (20/3). Regarding the current situation here Arun, Vernon and others are equally concerned about the two line struggle that is slowly taking shape on the urban front. Followed by the very unfortunate demise of Bijoy da. He was a strong leader with great vision and selfless devotion to the party and the Red Revolution! His leadership was greatly needed in today’s critical times. Things were far better before Prashant’s egoist agenda took over the larger interest of the party and the political prisoners. Com. Saibaba had raised this issue with you back in 2013 when Prashant revolted against Saibaba. We think that in one way the Gadchiroli court’s judgment has helped by restraining Prashant in doing further harm to the Party. With that said, we are working tirelessly to put up a strong defense for Saibaba. Every possible legal help in favour of the jailed comrades is being sought. HB has been given all the responsibility to coordinate programmes and protests to raise public opinion in our favour. On 20th April we will organise another program under the banner – Committee for the Defense and Release of GN Saibaba. We will leave no stones unturned in providing relief to all pol. prisoners. Com. Ashok B., Amit B., Seema and Sudhir have strongly pitched for more regular meetings of CRPP EC. It will facilitate smoother coordination of numerous pending cases in Delhi, MH, JH, Odisha, CHH. On the other side Com. Siraj has shown willingness to contribute for the party in all possible ways. He has been studying the party literature, resolutions and the party constitution for the past several years. Despite challenging situations he is ready for second APT cross-over. This time I would like to send another comrade with Siraj. His CV is in the memory chip with this letter. Sometime in last year Vishnu had met Com. Basanta to facilitate the deal. At the time Com. Kishan was unable to meet directly. I hope by now you have received details of the meeting and requirement of 8cr for annual supply of M4’s with 400000 rounds. Please convey your decision. Defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party.

Several leaders from the secret cells as well as open organisations have raised this issue very strongly. We are working to consolidate ties with like-minded organsiations, pol. Parties, representatives of minorities across the country. Modi led Hindu fascist regime is bulldozing it’s way into the lives of indigenous adivasis. In spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal, Modi has successfully established BJP govt in more than 15 states. If this phase continues then it would mean immense trouble for the party on all fronts. Greater suppression of dissent and more brutal form of Mission 2016 (OGH). Com. Kisanand few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-raj. We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance that we might fail but we feel that the party PB/CC must deliberate over our proposal. Targeting his road shows could be one effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices. Rest in the next letter.

With warm greetings

R

18/04/17

Why Hindutwa professors, right wing experts lack in matching Romila Thapar and other comrades?: Romila Thapar and company have come out openly and filed petition in the Supreme Court. However, no Hindutva historian, emeritus expert, professor or anybody come forward to file a petition to support their ideology or implead then to be a party, as their counterparts have filed petition. In fact, there have been many such beneficiaries under ND regime who have been enjoying or enjoyed awards, rewards, foreign travels, postings as member of ICHR, ICCSR etc. But, none of them responded, but, keeping quite. Why cannot they match Romil Thapar or other emeritus experts? In what way, are they lacking and lagging behind their ideology or expertise? Some have gleefully have written books, “Why I support Modi?,” whereas, there, they have been plotting to kill Modi, as the media reports point out. So why this indifference, callousness or cowardice? When the ideological war has been declared and going on openly, what is the use of hiding behind and keeping silence.

[2]Romila Thapar: A professor emerita of history at JNU, the 86-year-old Thapar helped found the varsity’s Centre for Historical Studies. A scholar of ancient history, her most famous works are Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (1961) and Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300, for which she won the US Library of Congress’s Kluge Prize in 2008. Thapar is a pioneer in ancient historical research, who gave new insights into ancient India by studying primary sources like archaeology and who revealed that Aryans were a linguistic group, not a race. She studied in Panjab University and London’s School of Oriental and Asian Studies. After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, she went beyond the confines of academic writing to speak out against the communal interpretation of history. Thapar opposed changes to school history textbooks – one of which she had authored -when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power. She then faced several threats and harassment. A petition against her was filed with the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress in 2003, alleging that she was “Marxist and anti-Hindu”. She declined the Padma Bhushan twice, on principle that she only accepted honours from academic bodies for her work.

[3]Devaki Jain: A Padma Bhushan awardee, Jain led in the field of feminist economics.The daughter of the diwan of the erstwhile Mysore princely state M. A. Sreenivasan, Jain read in Oxford. She founded the Indian Social Studies Trust in Delhi and was the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Gender for the United Nations Centre in Asia-Pacific and a member of the advisory panel of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the 1997 Human Development Report on Poverty and for the 2002 Report on Governance.She was also a member of the Eminent Persons Group of the Graça Machel Study Group appointed by the UN to assess the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children.She was married to the late Gandhian, freedom fighter, planner and former high commissioner to South Africa, L.C. Jain. Television journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Supreme Court advocate Gopal Jain are their sons.

[4]Prabhat Patnaik: A professor emeritus of JNU who helped set up its Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Patnaik studied at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and went to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship in 1966. He taught at Cambridge. He was the chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board from 2006 to 2011 and was part of a four-member task force of the UN to recommend reform measures for the global financial system in 2008. He specialises in macroeconomics and political economy and had published seminal works such as Time, Inflation and Growth (1988), Economics and Egalitarianism (1990), Whatever Happened to Imperialism and Other Essays (1995) and Re-envisioning Socialism (2011). Patnaik is also a columnist for The Telegraph. He has worked on the dynamics of a mixed economy, theory of imperialism, and Marxist theory. Patnaik has been one of the main voices among the retired faculty against the current administration of JNU and the vilification of its students and teachers under the BJP regime.

[5]Satish Deshpande: The youngest petitioner, 60-year-old Deshpande is a sociology professor in Delhi University known for his work on caste. His empirical research on Dalits have highlighted their absence in academia and the socially inferior position of Dalit converts among Christians and Muslims. He studied in JNU and later in the University of California. He has been on committees for publishing school textbooks.

[6]Maja Daruwala: The daughter of the late Field Marshal, Sam Maneckshaw, she headed the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative for 20 years, where she focused on prison and police reforms.A lawyer by training, Maja has worked in India, England, Singapore and Sri Lanka. She sits on several charitable boards, including the International Women’s Health Coalition, NAMATI, International Record Management Trust and Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore. She is a recipient of the Nani Palkiwala Award for protection and preservation of civil liberties in India.

Bhima-Koregoan violence and the consequent arrests [December 2017 to June 2018]: The June 2018 incidences, arrests with the Bhima-Koregoan violence have been discussed earlier in June 2018 in the blogs- in two parts, pointing out the role of Congress in it[1]. Everyone knows that the Bhima-Koregoan incidences resulted in violence, spreading to Mumbai incurring loss of life and properties[2]. The anti-Modi lobbyists attended the functions and spoke without mincing words[3]. Incidentally, last July 2017, in the International Ambedkar Conference held in Bangalore, some of them had attended. When they discussed, they delved upon the issue of ousting BJP out of power[4]. Of course, one of them tried to oppose Congress also, for name sake. Consequent to the filing of FIR , police searchers, recovery of incriminating documents, “urban naxals” arrested were – Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawle, Surendra Gadling, Soma Sen and Mahesh Raut. As they have been elite, sophisticated and experts in their ideology, propaganda and perverted intelligence, they have been trying to divide people under the guise of right to think, express, speak, write and so on. In the name of “human rights,” they comfortably forget the rights of the affected.

Plot to kill Modi? [Letter dated 18-04-2017 recovered from Rona Wilson laptop]: The nation wide raids conducted at the homes of prominent activists who allegedly have naxalite links is probably one of the biggest exercises. The raids were conducted at Delhi, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Goa and Mumbai were conducted after the police went through 25,000 GB of data seized from five arrested persons[5]. The police while going through the data stumbled upon the names of several persons, whose homes were raided on 28-06-2018. It was found that these persons living in the cities were either directly or closely associated with the naxalites. Very strong links have emerged, said an official part of the exercise to OneIndia. The data that was analysed in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case revealed that these persons were closely associated with the banned CPI (Maoist)[6]. They were allegedly involved in conspiring and taking part in movements with an intention of creating violence, officials also said. It may be recalled that it was during the same investigation that the police had also found that some persons were conspiring to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The police also raided the residences of left wing activists, Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, Vernon Gonsalves who was arrested under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2007, activist Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj and human rights activist Gautam Navalakha in Delhi. The house of Stan Swamy in Ranchi, Anand Teltumbede in Goa was also searched. Anand Teltumbede attended the Congress conference held at Bangalore in July 2017.

Earlier arrested – Sudhur Dhawle, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling etc in June 2018: On June 6, 2018, the police had arrested Sudhir Dhawale, leader of Mumbai-based Republican Panthers Jati Antachi Chalwal, Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson of Committee of Release of Political Prisoners, Nagpur lawyer Surendra Gadling of Indian Association of People’s Lawyers, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, and Mahesh Raut. The name of Rao had come up when the Pune police arrested, Surendra Gadling from Nagpur in June in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case. A letter was recovered from Gadling, in which Rao had complimented him for the success of the attack launched by naxalites in Gadchiroli. There were also letters discussing the assassination of Modi which were recovered from Rona Wilson, also an accused in the case. In addition to this the police also raided Fereira’s house in Thane. The police say that he is an alleged sympathiser of naxalites and had been arrested in the past as well. He was however discharged in all the cases.

The Police appraised the position: The moment Uraban naxals were arrested, as expected, their supporters from all intelligent groups stated opposing. Their propaganda has been so offensive, the Pune Deputy Commissioner of Police Shirish Sardeshpande had to arrange a press meet and clarify the position. During the press meet held in the city’s Shanivarwada area, said that the preparations including mobilization of funds and inciting the masses, were on since long before the Elgar Parishad was involved[7]. Elaborating, he pointed out that the alleged plot came to light after the police analysed the electronic devices, documents and other “highly incriminating evidence” seized from the five arrested persons, showing their links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist)[8]. This is the first official reaction from the Pune police justifying Tuesday’s arrests of –

Sudha Bharadwaj, lawyer-activist,

Gautam Navlakha, civil liberties activists,

Vernon Gonsalves,

Arun Ferreira and

Varavara Rao

from different parts of India, triggering a massive outcry. However, it is ridiculous to think that the police could arrest the “experts” just like that.

Should police reveal all evidences to the media?: The Police commissioner told, “We have scanned computer hard disks, pen drives, memory cards, resolutions of meetings, documents, emails and other elaborate communications between the members of the banned CPI (Maoist) and the five arrested accused,” he said. The CPI (Maoist) had formed the “All India United Front (AIUF)” as per a resolution passed by its Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) — an underground unit — and had hatched the conspiracy to topple the legally elected government. They analyzed 25,000 GB data to get the details. Efforts were underway to launch a similar front (AIUF) through the Elgar Parishad and included plans to collect funds, assign responsibilities, and acquire arms for the larger conspiracy. Howeve, he cannot reveal all the relied upon documents to the media, as the media people have been aiding and abetting the terrorists by sharing all information. In fact, had the arrested been really, involved, they could easily destroy such evidences incriminating. In fact, already, they started asserting that the “relied upon documents” are fake.

Naxals involved in killing innocent people: Besides, the evidence also reveals plans of the “urban Naxals” to influence and radicalize the youth and students, arms training and other details, he said. He revealed that the Maoists have been involved in many unlawful activities leading to the killings of a large number of security forces and civilians, besides links with other like-minded organisations, which were not named. In Tuesday’s [28-08-2018] operation, he said, a total of nine places were raided and the said five activists were arrested. The intellectuals should respond to their methodology of exploiting violence, killing and sabotaging to solve their problems.

Five eminent experts, but unconnected filed petition to release the arrested: Among those who have moved court include Romila Thapar, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande, Maya Darnall[9]. How these came together has been surprising and intriguing. In the petition, which was mentioned by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the historian and other right activists have sought release of all activists who have been arrested during raids in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case[10]. They have also sought an independent probe into the arrests[11]. The petitioners have also urged the apex court to seek explanation from Maharashtra for ‘sweeping round of arrest’ in the case. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, 2017[12]. However, these were keeping quite for the 31-12-2017 violence and June 2018 arrest of their collegues. Now, it is not known what compelled them to come together and file a petition in Supeme Court.